David Clark

18th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 18th September 2023
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Wulf Livingston

Wulf Livingston talks about his early hedonistic drug and alcohol use, life as a successful chef, and qualification as a social worker. He then worked with the drug and alcohol charity Lifeline in England, CAIS and later the Probation Service in North Wales. Wulf later joined academia, eventually becoming Professor of Alcohol...
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18th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 18th September 2023
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12-Step Fellowship, Part 1

Wendy Dossett has been researching the 12-Step Fellowship for a number of years. She points out that those groups that use the 12-step approach start with the concept of powerlessness, and argue that if the experience of the substance use or the behaviour is beyond a person’s willpower, then there has to be some...
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18th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 18th September 2023
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Gifts of Knowledge That Recovering People Can Bestow: Bill White

'Recovery Rising 'is the professional memoirs of William White who, over the span of five decades, evolved through several diverse roles to emerge as the addiction fields preeminent historian and one of its most visionary voices and prolific writers. Recovery Rising contains the...
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18th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 18th September 2023
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Powerlessness, Higher Power and GOD: Wendy Dossett

Wendy describes powerlessness as being a central concept in 12-Step fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). It is argued that if control of substance use is beyond your own willpower, then there has to be some other power that is going to bring about...
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18th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 18th September 2023
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Harm Reduction (Harm Minimisation)

Some people may not want to, or feel unable to, give up using drugs completely. They might just want to reduce the harm that drugs can cause, e.g. they might change from injecting heroin to smoking it. Harm reduction, or harm minimisation, is a model of working that has been associated with drug use treatment since the mid-1980s.
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18th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 18th September 2023
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Relationships, Connection and Healing from Trauma: Bruce Perry

'... recovery from trauma and neglect is also all about relationships—rebuilding trust, regaining confidence, returning to a sense of security and reconnecting to love… healing and recovery are impossible—even with the best medications and therapy in the world—without lasting...'
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17th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 17th September 2023
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Community Building

Mental health is not a product of pharmacology or a service that can be singularly provided by an institution: it is a condition that is more determined by our community assets than our medication or access to professional interventions more generally. There are functions that only people living in families and communities can perform to promote mental health and wellbeing... there simply is no substitute for genuine citizen-led...
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17th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 17th September 2023
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Without A Life Story: Bruce Perry

‘A fundamental and permeating strength of humankind is the capacity to form and maintain relationships—the capacity to belong. It is in the context of our clan, community and culture that we are born and raised. The brain-mediated set of complex capacities that allow one human to connect to another form the very basis for survival and has led to the ‘success’ of our species...'
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17th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 17th September 2023
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What Is Healing and How Does It Occur?: Judy Atkinson

'Healing as an experience of safety: ‘The healing of trauma requires the establishment of an environment of safety, without judgement or prejudice… Cultural safety is the identification a person makes with factors that are derived from the culture, belief systems or world views that allow them to feel safe while being with those to whom they have gone to help.’
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17th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 17th September 2023
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Kevin and Kerry’s Recovery Story: ‘A Family’s Journey’, Part 2

‘Also, remember that it’s not your addiction—it’s your loved one’s addiction. You might get involved, but it’s not your life, not your addiction—it’s theirs. It’s not something you have done that has caused it. You might think it’s because of their genes, upbringing, or whatever, but...'
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17th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 17th September 2023
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Now What?

Marcus sums up his addiction to drugs by saying that every single moment was about getting money to get drugs... and find somewhere to do it. And then having heroin help him escape from the reality of his lifestyle. When you've been living like that for years and you try to stop using... now what?!
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17th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 17th September 2023
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Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), 12-Step Movement, and Minnesota Model

The Twelve-Step Movement developed from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a self-help organisation founded in 1935 when one alcoholic, Bill Wilson (‘Bill W.’), talked to another alcoholic, Bob Smith (‘Dr. Bob’), about the nature of alcoholism and a possible solution for people suffering...
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16th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 16th September 2023
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‘Healing is in Our Stories’ by Deron Drumm RIP

'The beautiful people that I am so grateful to know have found meaning in despair and have found the strength and courage to seek out their current life path. There is no question that they are stronger and more compassionate people because of their experiences.'
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16th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 16th September 2023
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Reducing Suicide By Connecting To Culture

The destruction of Aboriginal culture by the colonisation process has played a key role in this youth suicide. Becoming disconnection from one’s culture can eradicate a person’s sense of self (or identity), their self-worth and their emotional wellbeing. They cannot function from...
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16th September 2023
Author: David Clark Posted: 16th September 2023
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Huseyin Djemil, Part 3

In a third interview, Huseyin Djemil talks about the traumatising events he experienced as a young child. His father and mother were arrested after the former killed someone in their house. Huseyin and his sisters lived with relatives until their mother was released from prison. Their father served time for manslaughter. Huseyin talks about the impact that these events had on his later life...
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